Sunday, March 22, 2009

Lessons From Spring Cleaning: Finding Myself in Clutter

Spring cleaning has created a head-on collision between my need for financial order and my pack rat tendencies. My paper collection includes cards and letters from 1987, old photographs and a 1980s-era cassette with lyrics from one of my favorite singers. Spring cleaning has taught me a lot about past accounts. Here's what I've learned:

Read the fine print and the large print: As I've reviewed older documents -- bank statements, letters and old cards -- I see how many significant details I've misunderstood, overlooked or dismissed in the past. Hindsight, of course, is 20/20. But as I sort through the pages of emotional and fiscal accounts, I carry forward lessons about the importance of carefully reading, digesting and acting on contracts, financial agreements and personal engagements. I've learned to carefully analyze contracts and contacts before taking action.

Follow through: In a recent post about an ugly tree, I promised readers that I would do some homework and discover the name of the tree. A reader has even left a comment asking me to make good on my word. Today I cringed when I realized that I had forgotten about that promise. In fact, as I sort through my photos, I have been confronted with a vast collection of broken promises. For example, I see scrapbooks that I meant to assemble, savings targets that I have missed and letters that I have never answered. With that 20/20 hindsight, I have better insights for the present and the future. Insights have led to a practical action plan. I've created a master list of projects -- financial, personal, creative -- and I plan to check in on that list nightly and to make more time to follow through on goals and promises.

Slow down: So many financial goals and personal promises floundered because I have lived life at high speed. I've moved from one so-called emergency to another, and in that speed I have created deeper problems and gaps in my assorted accounts. I now take more time to think, breathe and meditate. My goal is to move further ahead by moving slower.

2 comments:

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About Me: Writer, Mom and Journalist

I'm another spoiled writer, with fine tastes and a small budget. Author of a newspaper column about saving money. I have a fashionably frugal attitude: Live well, find meaning and stay on a budget.
Photo credit: Melanie Bell

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